B/R NBA Experts Answer Biggest Lakers, Warriors Questions Following Play-In Game

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Proponents of the NBA’s play-in tournament received ample evidence to support bringing it back on Wednesday, when LeBron James’ desperation heave from several feet behind the three-point line gave the Los Angeles Lakers a 103-100 victory over the Golden State Warriors in the 7-8 game.

The 34-footer with 58.2 seconds to play capped off a dominant second half for the defending champs. After trailing by 13 at halftime, LeBron, Anthony Davis and Alex Caruso (yes, Caruso) set a defensive tone that the Warriors couldn’t match. L.A. outscored Golden State 61-45 over the final two frames.

LeBron, noticeably slowed by his recovering ankle, finished the game with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, while Curry went for 37 on 12-of-23 shooting.

The Warriors are surely hoping he has at least one more typical Curry performance in him, as they’ll now face the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday for the right to the eighth seed and a first-round series against the Utah Jazz.

The Lakers, meanwhile, will now face LeBron’s old pal, Chris Paul, and the Phoenix Suns in the 2-7 matchup.

As both teams prepare for what’s next, answers to the following questions may be critical.

Did Warriors Lose on Execution? 

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The Warriors could have either called a time out or had Curry push in the final moments of the game—both were solid moves. However, if Curry was going to push, the Lakers could have easily fouled him to shoot two free throws while the team was up three, and it would have been a big gamble for the Warriors.

Taking a timeout was the smarter move, but calling it sooner would have been the most optimal move. It looked like head coach Steve Kerr was trying to call it sooner, but the refs didn’t see him, so he had to run on the court. The team looked too confused in the final seconds before the timeout was called because of that lack of clarity. With more time on the clock, the Warriors could have created a decoy play to get Curry the ball off the inbounds, instead of giving it to him immediately to shoot.

Ultimately, it’s a tough spot to be in against a good defensive team like the Los Angeles Lakers.

—Farbod Esnaashari 

Do The Lakers Actually Have a Switch?

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The Lakers eked out the No. 7 seed on a last-minute LeBron James three, capping off a second-half comeback, but it wasn’t a switch being flipped. The Lakers didn’t so much decide to turn it on, as many have assumed they would in this spot, as they outlasted the Warriors. 

Everything about this game was a grind up to the end. James and Anthony Davis are not right physically—given how good they looked in the final two games of the regular season, it was easy to wonder whether they were trying to avoid showing their hands.

It didn’t take long into Wednesday night’s game to see that there was no rope-a-dope going on here and that the Lakers are not at 100 percent. And now that they’re in the actual playoffs, it’s only going to get tougher for them. 

They may be able to get past Phoenix—after all, they do have James and Davis—but it’s far from a foregone conclusion that they’ll be able to turn it on at will.

—Sean Highkin

Adjustments From Both Sides?

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Nobody said the return to the NBA mountaintop was going to be easy for the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. But they took a major step in the right direction Wednesday night.

While disappointed, the Warriors’ season isn’t over yet. 

Adjustments are always a major factor in wins and losses, but they take on greater significance in a game like this that literally came down to one shot: a deep, desperate Steph Curry-like heave coming from LeBron James that was nothing but net and proved to be the game-winning shot.

Lakers: Getting to the Rim; Davis at Center

One of the more notable adjustments made by the Lakers was their intent at attacking Golden State at the rim, early and often, in the second half. The Lakers’ insistence on looking to score at the basket, began to loosen up Golden State’s perimeter defense.

And the result?

A 30-22 edge in second half points in the paint for the Lakers, compared to both teams being tied at 18-all in the first half on points in the paint. 

The more we see the twin bigs lineup with Anthony Davis and Andre Drummond, the clearer it becomes that the Lakers need to gradually get away from this and make Davis more of not just a centerpiece offensively, but more of a center…period. We saw the Lakers make this adjustment in the second half, and it worked really well.

Davis finished with 25 points, 20 of which came in the second half. 

Warriors (Non) Adjustments: Late-Game Time-Out Gaffe 

The Warriors had possession of the ball with 7.3 seconds to play but wasted way too much time before eventually getting a time-out called with just 2.1 seconds remaining. The Warriors are too talented and too well-coached to botch time management as badly as they did in the closing seconds of play. It left very little shot at freeing up Steph Curry for what could have been a potential game-tying three-pointer.

But even before that late-game gaffe, the Warriors weren’t able to put the game further out of reach when the Lakers were shooting below 30 percent from the field. Golden State’s lead that hovered around 10 or so points, should have been closer to 20, which would have put the Lakers in the kind of deep hole that this team doesn’t seem built to rally from this season. Fortunately for Golden State, they still have a chance to be in the playoffs. But they have to do a better job of maximizing those moments when they have a team that’s ripe to be taken out. 

— A. Sherrod Blakely

Is There a Right Way for Frank Vogel To Deploy AD?

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Andre Drummond was only minus-1 in his 17 minutes on Wednesday, but it sure felt worse than that. As long as he was on the floor, the Lakers offense felt stifled, stagnant and unimposing. Each post-up against Kevon Looney was like a gift.

With Anthony Davis at the 5, which is how most of the second half was played, the floor opened up. There was space in which AD could attack inside. Cutters had more room to move through the paint. Driving lanes were wider. Watching, you couldn’t help but ask: Why don’t they just do this all the time?

To Frank Vogel’s credit, he’s shown a willingness to shift back and forth between bully-ball and AD-at-the-5 lineups in the past. And he’ll likely need to do that on what is now the Lakers’ side of the bracket.

Deandre Ayton is plenty tall, but he’s not exactly the kind of 5 who’d bully Davis like Jonas Valanciunas might’ve in another play-in game. The wide-open game we saw in the second half on Wednesday could make sense in the first round. If L.A. gets to the second round and has to play Nikola Jokic or Jusuf Nurkic, bigger bodies like Drummond’s (or even Marc Gasol’s) will come in handy.

It’s a credit to general manager Rob Pelinka that the Lakers are able to go either way.

 —Andy Bailey

The Lowry Question 

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Rehashing the Kyle Lowry trade that wasn’t might ring somewhat hollow following a Lakers victory. But their play on offense was suspect enough to relitigate the situation without a hint of trolling.

Los Angeles balked at a deal that would’ve seen Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Talen Horton-Tucker, Dennis Schroder and draft compensation sent to Toronto, according to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha and Bill Oram. That’s an ultra-steep cost—not unreasonable, but worth the hesitation shown by the Lakers. Lowry is fantastic—a legitimate top-25ish player still—but this offer amounts to their starting backcourt and their highest-upside prospect, plus whatever draft compensation, for a player speeding toward free agency at age 35. 

And yet, Schroder and THT (restricted) are set to hit the open market themselves. Both are significantly younger, but neither moves the needle nearly as much as Lowry in the immediate term. He is more valuable to today’s title defense. That’s just a fact. And the Lakers could’ve used him against the Warriors. Schroder went 3-of-14 from the floor, struggled at times on defense and wasn’t on the court in crunch time. THT, meanwhile, barely played. Alex Caruso was their best option to throw at Stephen Curry, and they still needed to swarm the two-time MVP with triple-teams. It didn’t matter in the macro. Curry scored 37.

Maybe that’s the point. Steph will always go nuclear. Lowry wouldn’t have changed that, and the Lakers, to their credit, suffocated Steph into six turnovers. But they might’ve had the tools to do that anyway. Again: Their primary weapon against Curry wasn’t involved in the reported trade. And what the Lakers really need is another shot creator who can navigate them out of boggy, groggy stretches—or ensure they don’t get there in the first place. Schroder is just three games into his return from health and safety protocols, but he hasn’t done that on a consistent basis all year. KCP isn’t going to do it. THT isn’t there yet.

Lowry can be that guy. He is that guy. And though the Lakers didn’t technically need him to beat the Warriors, they may not be so lucky against a better opponent. To be clear, this isn’t a question with a definitive answer right now. That, however, says it all.

—Dan Favale

LA Proving It’s More Than the Stars? 

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LeBron James was the obvious hero in his Los Angeles Lakers’ 103-100 play-in win over the Golden State Warriors, hitting the long dagger three-pointer with 58 seconds left, but he wasn’t the team’s only hero on Wednesday night.

The Lakers struggled in the first half, but adjustments from Vogel paid off with Alex Caruso proving to be the team’s best defensive option on Steph Curry. Vogel also moved Anthony Davis to center, which opened the Lakers offense. Davis delivered as an All-Star should, but Vogel’s decision deserves praise.

Veteran wing Wesley Matthews only played 14.5 minutes, scoring just three points, but the Lakers outscored the Warriors by 17 points over that stretch. Matthews’ defense on Andrew Wiggins was the standout.

Kyle Kuzma only scored six points, but his playmaking (four assists) was vital in helping the Lakers pick apart the Warriors’ stingy defense. Kuzma is also one of the Lakers’ more active, switchable defenders.

Give the game ball to James, who hit a legendary shot despite blurry vision from a Draymond Green hard foul, but the Lakers had many heroes on their way to locking in the Western Conference seventh seed.

—Eric Pincus